The invention relates to a method for filling a cavity between two plates of glass of a fire-resisting and/or insulating composite glass, in which onto one of the glass plates along the margin region of the inner surface and spaced apart from the edge faces an encompassing bead of plastic spacer material is placed, subsequently the second plate of glass is brought together with the first and placed in contact on the bead of spacer material, the two plates are introduced into a plate press and the structure comprised of plates and spacer material-bead is pressed together to a specific thickness with the formation of a margin groove, the cavity is filled with filler material through openings in the bead and, after filling these openings, they are closed, as well as a device with means for carrying out the method.
Fire-resisting composite glasses of this type are disclosed in EP 0 590 978 B1. In these known fire-resisting composite glasses a water-containing intermediate layer is disposed between two plates of glass arranged at a spacing from one another. The distance between the two glass plates is determined by spacers, with this spacer being comprised of a profile bead of a rigid material, namely metal or ceramics. The connection between the plates of glass and the spacer is established by an adhesive agent based on butyl rubber. On the side directed toward the edges of the glass plates of the spacer a margin groove is formed, which is filled and sealed with an additional sealer material of a synthetic rubber. The production of fire-resisting composite glasses of this type entails various problems. In particular with large-area plates or glasses, it is difficult to form and introduce spacers of rigid material such that a faultless and tight connection is generated between the glass plates and the rigid spacer. Preparing and introducing the spacer in the correct form is elaborate and most often requires manual labor. The openings for filling in the water-containing intermediate layer must be formed previously and their closure, after the cavity between the two glass plates has been filled, is also difficult and elaborate.
It is known from DE 25 55 383 A1 in the case of insulating composite glasses to replace the solid spacer by a bead of spacer material, for example a mixture of polyisobutylene and butyl rubber. This bead of spacer material is extruded by means of an extrusion press directly onto one of the glass plates and the second glass plate is subsequently brought together with the first, and the two plates are pressed together to the desired thickness in a plate press. Filling the cavity between the two glass plates with a filler material, for example a protective gas, is not described here. However, it is known per se, to punch the tube through the bead of spacer material and to fill the protective gas through one or several such tubes. The tubes are subsequently removed and the openings in the bead of spacer material are closed again and an outer layer or a bead of sealer material in the form of polysulfide is additionally applied into the outer margin groove. While the method described here and the associated device permit the automatic application of the bead of spacer material, they do not make possible the simultaneous or immediately following application of the bead of sealer material. The consequence is that the glass plates or composite glasses must be handled very carefully, since the connection of the glass plates via the elastic bead of spacer material is not sufficiently stable. There is also the danger that foreign bodies enter the margin groove and adhere on the spacer. When putting in openings for filling the cavity between the glass plates, fragments of the spacer material or other foreign bodies can also be introduced into the cavity, which can lead to a quality reduction of the composite glass or even to rejects of composite glasses.